Football player held, briefly, in shooting of 13 year old in Queens

October 3, 2009

16-year-old Campus Magnet High Bull-Dog football player Nmesoma Okafor spent five hours in custody on Friday after he was arrested as a suspect in the shooting of 13-year-old Kevin Miller. Apparently, either Okafor or his height and bright-orange sweatshirt were identified by a witness, but coaches said he came to practice directly after school and couldn’t have been involved in the shooting. He was released to his father and Bull-Dogs Coach Eric Barnett around 9 pm.

According to the News, while Okafor was being questioned, his mother, an emergency room nurse at Long Island Jewish Hospital, was trying to save Kevin Miller.

Team Campus Magnet, and their coach, wore orange today to support Okafor. For his part, Okafor says he thinks he’ll be wearing neutrals from now on.